Renewable Energy Field Trip (3-5)
In this field trip, students will visit the recently opened JEA/海角社区Sustainable Solutions Lab where they will meet engineering students and 海角社区professors from the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction who are conducting innovative research on renewable energy. Students will then take part in hands on activities about solar energy and renewable energy in the STEP Lab. Thanks to generous funding, 海角社区will cover the cost of bus transportation to and from our campus for schools participating in the Renewable Energy field trip.
Renewable Energy Field Trip Structure
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Pre-Lesson
Teachers are provided with a lesson plan to implement in their classrooms that is aligned with the standards and prepares students for their visit to the STEP Lab.
Analyzing Data Tables
After an introduction or review of the different features of data tables, students will read a data table about wind and solar production in 3 different cities and then discuss their observations and analysis of the data. Students in schools involved in the research will also complete a brief pre-assessment and survey.
Zoom with Professor X
Xavier Rozas, known as Professor X, director of the STEP Lab will Zoom into your class after your pre-lesson, either later that day or the next day, to talk with students about what they did and observed in their pre-lesson. He will also give a brief pep talk about their upcoming visit to UNF.
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海角社区Visit
JEA/海角社区Sustainable Solutions LabThe Renewable Energy field trip begins with an interactive tour of the JEA-海角社区Sustainable Solutions Lab on the 海角社区campus. Here the students will meet the engineers who are conducting innovative research on solar and hydrogen energy. Students will move through the lab in groups and rotate through stations that include a solar powered micro-grid, hydrogen fuel cells, infrared heat sensing goggles, calculate energy production, and a golf cart powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
STEP Lab
Students will then visit the 海角社区STEP Lab at the College of Education and Human
Services. Here students will first participate in a renewable energy vocabulary activity and then watch a video about the differences between renewable and non-renewable energy. Students will then work in small teams to build their own solar car using Lego Renewable energy kits. After lunch students will take their cars outside to “race,” running trials to see what variables affect the energy, power and work capacity of their builds and track the results using data tables. Back in the STEP Lab, students will discuss the results of their data collection and participate in a final reflection about renewable energy. Before leaving, the teacher will receive a copy of the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba which will be used in the post-lesson in addition to any needed materials.
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Post-Lesson
Teachers are provided with a lesson plan to implement in their classroom that is aligned with standards and reinforces the science concepts and literacy strategies they practiced in the STEP Lab. Teachers are given an informational text to use in their classroom.
Back at their school, after doing a vocabulary activity related to the read aloud, students will create wind powered vehicles and record the impact of different variables using data tables. Students in schools involved in the research project will also take a brief post-assessment and survey.
Suggested Schedule
Time: Approximately 3 hours
Begins at JEA/海角社区Sustainable Solutions Lab, Building 48A
STEP Lab field trip activity schedule. Activity Approximate Time Sustainable Solutions Lab Stations
1 hour
STEP Lab Activities:
- Snack
- Science vocabulary activity
- Renewable versus Nonrenewable video
- Lego build
45 minutes
Lunch
20 minutes
STEP Lab Activities:
- Car racing and data collection
- Data analysis
- Final reflection
1 hour